ISIS Leader Killed In Botched Suicide Attack

International Business Times

by John Walsh

An Indonesian national, who was the commander of Islamic State group militants in Southeast Asia, died fighting in Syria amid a botched suicide attack on troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad. Bahrumsyah died when his car, which was packed with explosives, prematurely exploded before reaching a unit of the Syrian Army near the central city of Palmyra.

ISIS confirmed Bahrumsyah’s death Tuesday, but posted on its Twitter account that the suicide attack by “Abu Muhammad al-Indonesi,” successfully inflicted significant damage on Syrian troops. Abu Muhammad al-Indonesi was the nom de guerre given to Bahrumsyah by ISIS, the Straits Times reported Tuesday.

Bahrumsyah reportedly was handpicked by ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to lead a unit of fighters from the Malay Archipelago in the Syrian civil war.

An expert on international terror groups, Ridlwan Habi, told Republika that obituaries and prayers for Bahrumsyah have been pouring in on Twitter from ISIS members in Indonesia.

Bahrumsyah allegedly was instrumental in the planning and funding of a Jan. 14, 2016, terrorist attack at a Starbucks in the Indonesian capital on behalf of ISIS, which killed four civilians and injured 20.